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Amata is summoned to speak on her report of being attacked by a subordinate during a mission. A judgement is soon made.

"Each To Their Own Duty"

Mizukage's Office

"Send her in."
Meruin watches the door close once more, looking at it for a moment before he turned his gaze to his desk. The slowly swirling blue mists within the black orbs of his eyes barely saw his hands as they ordered the files on the desk before him, the act of removing certain items from view having grown reflexively familiar long ago.
His next meeting was one that he had no doubt would prove to be… inconvenient. The events that lead up to it were transcribed in the mission report that still lay on his desk. Assault and insubordination were the bulk of it and adressing such things were rarely pleasant affairs. Still, Okumo Amata would soon be entering to help shed a little more light on the situation.

Walking into the office, Amata would look only a moment at the wall that she had gone through not too long ago. She peers at the man behind the desk and hmms as she walks over to the chair set across from him and looks it over before settling into it. Over her shoulder is Nuibari. She peers across at him and tilts her head, "So, what is it that the Mizukage wishes of me?" She hmms and tilts her head.

"First," spoke Meruin as he canted his own head, "Would be behaving with the decorum suitable of one in their new station and greeting the Mizukage properly as you enter his office for a meeting." Too much of the career spent outside of Kirigakure, that such a habit would form. "You will never find your way above the rank of Chuunin if you never learn this much, Okumo Amata," he warned, unblinking gaze on the woman.

Giving the salute appropriate for Kirigakure, Okumo Amata looks to Meruin with a tilt of her head followed by a slight inclination of it, "True, perhaps. I am a scientist, Mizukage." She nods her head, "As well as a shinobi. My mind wanders to possiblities, the same possibilities you sought to use for the wielding of Nuibari." She then looks at her, "As all Swordsman are, after all, extension of your hand." She then looks at him more directly before her head shifts slightly so her right eye is more toward him, her head inclined to the right and forward, "As a note, would it not be you that placed the sword in my hand. Does it not put me above the rank of chuunin all on its own?"

Meruin gives a small inclination of the head in greeting to Amata as she performs her salute, listening as she speaks thereafter. A nod of agreement before her pause and more direct look. After her final comment, however…
"Nay."
He shook his head, "Being a Seven Swordsman is an honor and a title, not an official rank. It grants you prestige and provided you live up to it, is often accompanied by a measure of respect and reverence. It is a note of talent as a shinobi. But it does not, in and of itself, grant you command over another shinobi. They are simply more likely to allow you that command. You are still effectively a chuunin, just as Uzumaki Isra is, with the powers afforded to such."

"Be that as it may, there is a grave situation that needs your attention." She nods her head and shifts up in her seat and looks at Meruin, "The one known as Akane." She nods her head, "That one has a serious problem that if not curbed or dealt with could prove the death of someone undeserving of it before it causes her own." She nods her head, "Not to mention possible serious detriment to Kirigakure in general."

"Aye," spoke Meruin. "It is the reason I have called you in today. To address this matter." The Mizukage leaned forward at his desk, hands coming together upon his desk, fingers steepling together. "Tell me of the mission, limiting your report to things you believe pertinent to Akane's uncharacteristic behavior."

"In that case, it started prior to the mission. In the Arena in a fight between Yoichi and Akane and myself. A friendly spar in which she applied vicious and purely deadly tactics against him. Not deadly in the sense that one should be even in a spar…true and complete intention to kill." She nods her head, "The mission, was a solidification. Some kind of stone. A stone being kept carefully in the labs right now, was changing cave dwelling and non-cave dwelling creatures into obsessed things that wished to be near it. Upon leaving is when I disocvered this stone upon Akane's person. She may have more but before giving it over…she attacked and brutally. I have not known her to act rashly or attack as such. It was as if she were someone else, mad. Insane. Bloodthirsty. The mission nor the stone made her this way. It was as if it were a step up from the arena. She is a medic and one who seeks to give life…but this other within her seeks only death."

Meruin lets silence take the office at her final words, notice of a harbringer of death within Akane. He only watches, whatever is going on behind the pupiless black orbs of his eyes rendered inscrutable by the pale mists swirling within their centers.
But he didn't allow the moment to linger for too long, nodding his head. "Kyoujin, she is called. As you may be aware of now. That she has surfaced and attacked you is troubling news indeed. It is a matter that I will have to see dealt with in one manner or another."
The door opened here, the secretary saluting and inquiring, "You called, Mizukage?" Meruin nodded and replied, "Send her in," without looking her way. The "Right away, sir," and the click of the door were the signs of her departure to see duty done.
"So we will make strides to see it done now," continued Meruin. "Akane will be with us shortly to speak her piece and receive judgement on this situation. As for the stone, you should realize that it is not yours to take. Integral to a mission, it is village property. See it turned in by the day after tomorrow."

"I think you misunderstand, Mizukage. I said it was in the lab. The Okumo lab. Would you prefer it in a lockbox somewhere to be tosses aside and not looked at?" Amata tilts her head at Meruin, "It is as turned in as I'd think you want but if you would prefer it to be simply put in some part of the administrative building to not be seen again, I can arrange that. I just would think that you would prefer it in the hands of those who can look into it."
She then looks back as it is time for Akane to come in and for, now, says nothing more on the subject.

Akane stepped in, her hair was still wet from the river in spots, darker than the rest. Akane herself is jacketless, just wearing her bustier on top. The medic's expression was mostly masked, though one who has dealt with her might see a touch of paranoia in the set of her jaw and the way her eyes flicked back and forth. First to Amata them to Meruin, eyes deeper than jade but not quite emerald. The woman was exhausted and pale and tense, not tense from where she was as much as tense like she thought she was going to be attacked. She stepped into the room far enough for the door to close and simply stood there on the balls of her feet, hands slowly clenching and releasing at her sides.

Meruin simply inclined his head to Amata saying only, "I had indeed misunderstood. Containment in one of the Okumo's laboratories is ideal." As he spoke, however, the mists within his eyes began to swirl more swiftly, hues of blood seeping into their cool tones. His stare was direct until the door opened once more and Akane was ushered into the room.
The Mizukage examined the woman. Slightly wet, without certain articles of clothing, clearly exhausted and clearly in an unfortunate frame of mind. The man canted his head slightly, examining her cooly for a few small while.
"Go home."
Meruin unclasped his hands, leaning backwards in his chair, arms coming to lay on his armrest. "There's no point in speaking to you in this state. Go home. Get some rest. We'll reconvene to speak on this soon." The door opened behind Akane, the secretary having opened the door once more, looking expectant as though awaiting orders. But Meruin only spoke to Akane, pointing out of the open door. "Speak to your fiance and get yourself under control."

Akane's eyes landed on Meruin's face as he spoke, ordering her to go home and rest. Her expression hardened and she locked eyes with Meruin for a brif moment. Akane spotted the crimson in the Mizukage's eyes and paled even further. And suddenly her eyes were dark emerald, her stance aggressive but not quite violent. She scowled toward Amata then started moving, aware of the swordswoman the entire time she moved. She moved in a very precise manner, heading around to circumvent Amata, giving her as wide a birth as possible. She came to a stop just out of what would be Meruin's arm's length, looking down at him where he sat in his chair.
This was the second time he and Kyoujin had come face to face since Akane had come to Kirigakure. But unlike the last time she did not seem to feel the need to challenge him. Indeed she showed a hint of something out of her character for though she stared at him head on bearing her pride like a mantle, the moment was short. Last time she'd sworn to bow to no man. Now the warrior sank to one knee at his feet, head down, one fist on her thigh one on the floor. Her marked back was clearly visible to both meruin and Amata but Kyoujin seemed only comfortable within this range of Meruin. There was also a distinctive *CLACK* when she sank to her knee as something shifted in her pouches.
"This One is here."

Meruin's expression remained smooth as Akane's turned combative, simply watching her as she allowed Kyoujin to the fore and began to stalk through his office, circling on a path that would take her to him. He watched, calm and still… quiet until she was standing before him and he had to look up from his chair.
And then she kneeled to him.
The Mizukage's watchful silence continued, examination of the woman a heavy thing. And then he turned his gaze to Okumo Amata. "Depart, Nuibari. You are dismissed." He looked to the secretary with a nod, saying, "You as well." The secretary nodded and turned her body to allow room for Amata to pass by.

A rare thing seen on Amata. It's not often she shows it, she doesn't often show much more than her smug attitude. She looks…angry. Her eyes staring at this Akane. Just below her nose, her right upper lip twitching upward a little almost into a snarl before she looks up at Meruin. It's a shuddering effort for Amata to give a salute then simply leave. Anyone who has known her a while knows all too well that the scientist was known for her lack of emotions. Only a simple smugness at best. A calm, collected feeling at all times. Almost mocking…and now she was angry and she simply turned after her salute and walked away.

Kyoujin remained still, fully aware of Meruin's gaze on her. A measure of Akane's acceptance kept her still and silent at Meruin's feet. Her heart was only slightly faster than it should be. She had been known to be unable to feel fear so one might wonder just what had caused the proud warrior-protector to bow in such a manner to a man who had simply ordered the medic to go home and take care of herself. On the edge of that, though, there was a tension that reflected something deeper that had bothered the woman, Akane or otherwise. She seemed tense even as Amata left, her emerald eyes shifting to watch the other woman leave in her peripherals. She would have to deal with that one later she supposed….

Meruin quietly clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
"Indeed you are."
Now that the room was clear but for the two of them, the Mizukage continued the conversation between the pair as though there had never been a break in it. "Why? You are here to give one message or another. Just what is it that you wish for me to know?"

Kyoujin remained still as she listened to Meruin's question. She did not answer right away, remaining still but for a furrow of her brow and a look of faint confusion on her face. She shook her head hard as if to clear it. The fist on the floor lifted, opened… And hesitated halfway up from the floor. Her neck tensed again and she seemed to think about something. Her eyes flicked up to Meruin's again and caught his gaze. The colors there seemed to steady her and as long as she held his gaze with hers her hand moved smoothly to one of her pouches, removing a stone the size of both her fists together. She glanced down at it and in that moment when her eyes broke with his the tension and confusion bubbled back up. She simply stayed like that, looking at the dull rock as though it were something precious.

"I see…"
Meruin's gaze is a steady one, taking in the whole of the woman kneeling before him, torn between the stone within her grasp and him. He hadn't expected any part of this from the point he'd told her to go to her home. But it was a positive surprise.
"You have come," he said, "To demonstrate the worth of your oaths." He inclined his head in a solemn gesture, hand extending, palm raised towards the woman, too far to make contact but near enough that she might reach out and do so, touch only possible together.
"Show me."

Kyoujin blinked several times when Meruin spoke, as if she had not been present mentally. It was enough to bring her eyes back up to gaze at Meruin. Once the contact was re-established, the woman's hand continued in it's motion, carefully laying the stone in Meruin's palm. Their hands brushed and she paused, her brow furrowing… It lasted but a moment and she started to withdraw. The moment the stone was out of her hand and solidly in his she seemed to relax visibly. Her demeanor was a bit more like Akane's rather than Kyoujin. With Amata gone and the stone out of her hands — literally — everything about her settled. She looked as though she could suddenly breathe properly and a hand went to her forehead.
The next few seconds demonstrated just how much of a fracture had been created in the woman's already split mind. She had been acting oddly and confusedly since returning with tao's body, something Ishino had noticed as well. This mission had simply come on the heels of that incident and put further pressure on her. But rather than the violent woman he'd met in the arena, Meruin saw something closer to a proud servant displayed before him. One that apparently had a headache. She finally looked up at him again, her emerald eyes reflecting a desire to please even as she waited for judgement.

Meruin's eyes whirled a little more swiftly as the stone was placed in his palm, purples flooding the mists and mingling with the various hues of blood within the haze, a turbulent riot of deep color. That dark vibrance remained on Akane, watching as she swiftly recovered from the effects of the stone she'd just handed over. Over those next few moments, the paranoid and unstable woman who'd walked through the door had simply been washed away.
"Potent…" murmured the Mizukage.
Darkness covered his palm, then, and silk rose to surround the stone as it was pulled out of his hand and into his sleeve, out of sight.He met the gaze of Akane, then. Of one loyal and true to Kirigakure. To its Mizukage. Still, he took the time to query.
"You had only the one?"

Kyoujin watched the stone be wrapped in silk and narrowed her eyes. Meruin's question received a slow shake of the head. Her eyes fluctuated, her chakra becoming unstable. Her demeanor changed again and the one leg that was off the ground dropped into a full kneel. The woman dropped her head and eyes as if tired as she reached backwards, retrieving a smaller stone and offering it to Meruin with only a hint of the pull the larger one had exhibited on her. When she looked up again it was with pale eyes and a hint of hesitation. Once that stone was removed from her physically she shivered and seemed to droop a bit more. The genjutsu had drained her yes, and she had felt the paranoia lifting like a weight from her. It was odd for Kyoujin to abandon her in a moment like that. She should have been gleefully taking control and proving to Meruin /she/ was better suited town the body than Akane and yet the fracture vanished when Akane was vulnerable. The woman closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing.

The cool feel of spider silk would accompany the feeling of lightening, from both the stone's weight and the weight of her covetousness. It too vanished within the depths of the Mizukage's sleeve, the intensity of the colors in his eyes only now beginning to ease.
Meruin's gaze stayed on Akane's until the latter closed hers and he nodded to her. The Okumo gave her some time to breathe… to steady herself after being held captive so long, her will assaulted for every moment — and so swiftly after her ordeal with Uchiha Tao. After her breathing steadied some and her body seemed a little more set to rights, he spoke.
"Come closer, that I might reach."

Once Akane could get a grip on her breathing she opened her eyes. That he had given her a moment to regain control was appreciated and that showed in her eyes before she sat up again. She kept her head down respectfully, not wanting to look up and see anger or disappointment on Meruin's face. She collected her will and duct taped it together again haphazardly. When he spoke, an order to move closer, she blinked, surprised at the request. She did not hesitate to obey, though. She came up onto her knees and slid forward a few feet, bringing her well within Meruin's range while sitting. Almost instinctively she placed her hands lightly on his knee and lifted her eyes finally. Held within was her trust of him along with a sense of guilt and acceptance, always acceptance, of the consequences of what had happened.

"I thank you…"
Meruin brought two fingers to his lips, placing a kiss on them before extending them to Akane. A deft motion pushed her Hitai-ite upwards into her hair and pressed his fingertips to her forehead. She would feel a sudden flash of small pain in that moment, the feeling swiftly washed away by a cooling sensation and a renewal of energy.
"For your loyalty and your trust. For your service and your dedication, I thank you. You struggle for us, for me, and your efforts never go unseen or unvalued. Truly, you are of Kirigakure. Strong and proud and true, whether your eyes are light or dark. Stand firm in this, always."

Akane blinked when he kissed his own fingers, flushing as he reached out to touch her, pressing his cool fingers against her forehead. She blinked but did not wince at the pain, then it cooled and she felt energy slipping back into her body. His words, though did more for her than the healing could ever have. The relief and pride in her eyes shone brightly. She gave a short nod, dropping her eyes for a second of silence before she reached up with her hands to rest on his wrist. Her slender fingers were light and gentle, holding his wrist with a grip that could easily be broken with the slightest of motions. She leaned forward an inch and pressed her forehead against his palm, her hand moving over his in a holding position. Unless he stopped her she would stay there for a moment, feeling the pulse in his hand and wrist against her forehead. then she let it go and pressed a light kiss to his palm, an intimate show of that loyalty, a reaffirming of the oaths she'd given him, to serve as shinobi and more. She let up then, her touch lingering on his wrist only as long as he allowed it. But she looked serious again. She looked up at him. "Whether it was Kyoujin or not I fought a superior." She waited quietly, as if this business needed to be taken care of.

Meruin's presence did not forsake Akane in her time of communion. It stayed, pressed, its force light but wholly present. It was a wordless support, a silent investment as the pair remained together in that moment, the Mizukage's vivid gaze unshifting from the kneeling woman throughout it. And then she looked up and she spoke. Yet another sign.
"Aye…"
The Kage pulled his hand back to rest on the chair's arm, the gesture murmuring that the moment had passed, the two moving on as Akane had shown herself ready for. There was little more that needed to be said. She knew him well enough to know that, "It is a failing that cannot be allowed to go unpunished for a myriad of reasons."
Meruin's expression changed not a bit as he said, "So punishment shall be dealt. The day after tomorrow at midnight, you shall report to the Dammed Arena. You will shackle yourself to the whipping post and wait there until Okumo Amata chooses to go to you. She will administer twenty lashes and unlatch you. Afterwards, you will present to her one of your weapons and thank her for the opportunity to make amends in reflection, blood and steel. Insubordination is a cancer, the assault of a superior one of the deadliest varieties. See yourself cleansed, Fujikujo Akane."

Meruin's presence did not forsake Akane in her time of communion. It stayed, pressed, its force light but wholly present. It was a wordless support, a silent investment as the pair remained together in that moment, the Mizukage's vivid gaze unshifting from the kneeling woman throughout it. And then she looked up and she spoke. Yet another sign.
"Aye…"
The Kage pulled his hand back to rest on the chair's arm, the gesture murmuring that the moment had passed, the two moving on as Akane had shown herself ready for. There was little more that needed to be said. She knew him well enough to know that, "It is a failing that cannot be allowed to go unpunished for a myriad of reasons."
Meruin's expression changed not a bit as he said, "So punishment shall be dealt. The day after tomorrow at midnight, you shall report to the Dammed Arena. You will shackle yourself to the whipping post and wait there until Okumo Amata chooses to go to you. She will administer twenty lashes and unlatch you. Afterwards, you will present to her one of your weapons and thank her for the opportunity to make amends in reflection, blood and steel. Insubordination is a cancer, the assault of a superior one of the deadliest varieties. See yourself cleansed, Fujikujo Akane."

Akane felt him withdraw his hand and sat back on her heels, allowing the moment to dissipate. Ahe had expected this to end in punishment of some kind. She even nodded as he said it could not go unpunished. What the woman had seen of Kiri justice was mostly dealt against it's enemies. Shirayuki Katsurou's death, the execution she had aided Ishino with of the band of encroachers months before. But never to one of it's own. She had heard talk of 'lashes' but had never seen them administered.
So when Meruin pronounced her sentence she felt her heart skip and for a brief moment she sighed. It passed, replaced by that acceptance. She would be allowed to retain her honor by submitting to the shackling and lashes willingly, showing also that she acknowledged her wrong. She would not be a prisoner, drug in and humiliated. The pain would serve both as a punishment and a cleansing. She settled a little as she let the sentence sink in. It was strange. She looked up and spoke, not to Yondaime Mizukage, but to Meruin himself. "It's strange. Konoha would find that to be barbaric." Her brow furrowed and she laughed lightly. "But still.. It fills a void that a fine or demotion would never fill."
She shifted back a half step, still on her knees. Her eyes showed a deep understanding of the practice even if she couldn't put it into words. She addressed him then as both the man she respected and the Mizukage that had pronounced her punishment, a strange calm falling over her. Her demeanor shifted to a more formal one and she placed her hands on the floor, lowering her head. "I thank you for allowing me to prove myself again. And to the whole of Kirigakure." She lowered her head to the floor, her forehead lightly touching Meruin's foot. Until she was 'cleansed' of the cancer as he put it she would not be fit to touch his hands.

He could see it.
Her understanding behind the punishment. The humility to combat the hubris of assaulting one's better. The opportunity to prove oneself as capable of honor, still, stepping forth to face consequences of one's own volition. The gifting of one's own weapon in an act of reparation. And her words, 'It fills a void that a fine or demotion never could,' they only reaffirm what he sees, drawing a nod from him. She understands that this has meaning in a way money or titles lost cannot. That this act is truly felt.
He said nothing on that matter — there is no need to speak the words that are already written on another's heart — but instead allowed her to make her bowing obeisance in silence until her forehead touched his foot. "Speak through actions over words and I will hear your message more clearly, its sound lingering longer. Reflection, blood and steel. Through these things, show your thanks.
"Now go home." Meruin's hair slips over his shoulders, falling onto the back of the chair. "Find your rest. Meditate upon your purpose. Settle into your peace….
"We are done here."